Poughkeepsie man found guilty of grand larceny in Ulster County Court

KINGSTON, N.Y. -- A 46-year-old Poughkeepsie man arrested after trying to elude police, was found guilty Wednesday in Ulster County Court of six felony charges, according to the Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright.

Cedric Thomas was found guilty of three counts each of grand larceny and possession of a stolen credit or debit cards, Carnright said. He was found not guilty of possession of a stolen vehicle, Carnright said.

Police said Thomas and an accomplice stole a pocketbook containing credit cards and $219 in cash from a vehicle at a gas station in Highland Aug. 24, 2011.

Police said they saw Thomas driving a stolen 1999 GMC Sierra pickup truck on Chapel Hill in Highland, and when police attempted to stop him, he tried to elude police.

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Thomas struck a car in the parking lot of the Wagon Wheel Deli, police said, and fled south on U.S. Route 9W, where he was stopped in Marlborough near Old Indian Road with assistance from Marlborough town police.

Police said they also recovered the stolen pocketbook inside the vehicle that had been reported stolen earlier that day from a parked vehicle at the Chapel Hill Sunoco gas station in Highland.

When Thomas was apprehended, he was found with $219 in his pocket. Both the theft of the purse and the police chase were captured on video, Carnright said.

Police say the vehicle Thomas was driving had been stolen from a home in Dutchess County. Thomas has an extensive criminal history in New York and Virginia, Carnright said.